Japanese Patent No. 2840639 provides a conventional drying apparatus which dries various kinds of materials in the form of grains, powder, liquid, blocks and other forms of material. Material is introduced into a drying tank of the drying apparatus by a feed screw within a supply pipe connected to the bottom of the tank, swirled up by a set of rotor blades, and pressed centrifugally against a heating surface. Material is pushed upward in the tank by following material, and thus material is sent upward and dried. The dried material is transferred out of the drying tank by a discharge screw.
The conventional drying apparatus described in Japanese Patent No. 2840639 is distinguished by its high drying efficiency. However its operational efficiency is limited by the fact that it is a batch mode machine that operates intermittently.
An objective of the present invention is to provide a drying apparatus which is capable of drying materials continuously, thereby improving drying efficiency.